Mentoring New Hunters with Eric Dinger

Activate The Hunt Podcast Episode 005

Being a new hunter is hard. The learning curve is steep, especially if you don’t know others that hunt. Don’t let this discourage you though. There are many experienced hunters that are looking to help new hunters. Finding a hunting mentor is the best way to accelerate the learning curve and gain the knowledge and confidence you need to help you advance on your journey as a hunter.

My guest today, Eric Dinger, talks about the importance of mentoring new hunters, where you can find hunting mentors, the North American model for wildlife conservation and the decline of the baby boomer generation in hunting and the effect it could have on the future of hunting.

Guest Introduction

Eric Dinger, a lifelong hunter, and outdoorsman is the CEO of Powderhook.com, an app that helps hunters, anglers, and outdoorsman find places to go and things to do, including a community of mentors that are helping each other on hunting, fishing and outdoor adventures. Powderhook is basically your help desk for the outdoors.

Prior to starting Powderhook, Eric founded his first company, a PR and marketing agency known as Thought District, which he sold in 2012.

In this show, Eric covers many topics that are important to new hunters and those that have been hunting for a while, including the importance of mentoring new hunters and celebrating those that are taking their time to be mentors to our next generation of hunters.

Show Highlights

Eric’s introduction to hunting

Pheasant hunting in South Dakota

Initial steps of becoming a hunter

Mentoring new hunters

North American model for wildlife conservation

The decline of the baby boomer generation in hunting and the effect it could have on the future of hunting

What hunting could look like in the future

The importance of Public Land

Knowing where your food comes from

Embracing those who don’t hunt

Celebrating hunting mentors

Quotes To Remember

“Something like 93% of people have a mentor when they get into hunting” -Eric Dinger

“Hunters and anglers fund about 60% of all conservation in the United States” -Eric Dinger

“There is a crisis coming that only hunters and anglers can fix” -Eric Dinger

“The number one reason people hunt is for food” -Eric Dinger

“Stop fighting with people and start inviting them. There’s nothing you can do to convince someone that hunting is okay until you take them” -Eric Dinger